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Will Ohio State Get Injured Offensive Linemen Back For Indiana? · Buckeyes TomOrrow Morning

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  Speaker 1: Welcome to Buckeyes tomorrow morning for Wednesday, October 14th. I'm
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  Speaker 1: your host, Tom, or the Indiana game in three days,
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  Speaker 1: the game against Michigan in 45 days. Today's episode presented
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  Speaker 1: by our friends at Jeff Ruby's Columbus, proudly offering nationally
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  Speaker 1: and an attention to detail that is simply unmatched. Just
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  Speaker 1: and make a reservation today. All right, the Ohio State
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  Speaker 1: Buckeyes getting set for a top five showdown this weekend,
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  Speaker 1: their second top five showdown of the season. Both on
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  Speaker 1: the road. The first one was at Texas this time.
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  Speaker 1: Number four, Ohio State. At number five, Indiana. Noon kickoff
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  Speaker 1: on Fox Saturday. Had a chance to talk to Ryan
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  Speaker 1: Day during his Tuesday press conference. He had a lot
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  Speaker 1: of interesting things to say. We're just going to do
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  Speaker 1: some of them here. We'll probably do a whole separate
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  Speaker 1: bonus show for you a little bit later on because
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  Speaker 1: he had some really, really interesting stuff to say. A
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  Speaker 1: lot of interesting, good questions this week as well. One
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  Speaker 1: of the first questions about picking up the pace. The
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  Speaker 1: Buckeyes got criticized a little bit for playing slowly last year,
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  Speaker 1: and that was somewhat intentional, I think, at times. This year,
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  Speaker 1: they're playing a little bit faster. So what went into
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  Speaker 1: the decision to play with a little more tempo?
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  Speaker 2: Well, I just think you look at every year what
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  Speaker 2: you want to get done, how you want to get
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  Speaker 2: it done. And Arthur and I spoke for a while
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  Speaker 2: and talked about how it really can be a part
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  Speaker 2: of our offense in a big way and then try
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  Speaker 2: to figure out how to utilize it, I think, Anytime
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  Speaker 2: you're exclusively one thing, then you have an opportunity to get.
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  Speaker 3: Sort of targeted.
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  Speaker 2: And I think having the ability to go in and
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  Speaker 2: out of those things has been good for us and
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  Speaker 2: it needs to continue to be.
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  Speaker 1: The last time Ohio State played Indiana, it was that
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  Speaker 1: week that Ohio State offensive coordinator Brian Hartline announced that
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  Speaker 1: he was leaving to go take the head coaching job
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  Speaker 1: at USF. That happened in the middle of the week.
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  Speaker 1: That was also early signing day, so that caused a
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  Speaker 1: little bit of a ripple effect where the Buckeyes had
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  Speaker 1: to go back and sort of re-lock in some of
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  Speaker 1: the guys, some of their key pieces in that recruiting class.
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  Speaker 1: So kind of a hectic week in Columbus, and that
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  Speaker 1: led to a little bit of a weird week of preparation.
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  Speaker 1: So now that you have things a little more under
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  Speaker 1: control and a little less hectic this week, how much
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  Speaker 1: better does Ryan Day feel going into this game with
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  Speaker 1: their staff, as opposed to last year when the staff
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  Speaker 1: was a little more in flux.
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  Speaker 2: You know, I think any coach would tell you going
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  Speaker 2: into a game, nothing that's happened before matters at all
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  Speaker 2: going into this game. But yeah, when you go, I
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  Speaker 2: think it was, you know, four for 13 on third
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  Speaker 2: down and four times in a red zone and only
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  Speaker 2: had 10 points.
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  Speaker 3: Not good. So you're not going to win many games
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  Speaker 3: when you do that.
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  Speaker 2: And so I think the thing that's significant is it's
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  Speaker 2: just a good reminder of how important those situations are.
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  Speaker 2: And I think Indiana does as good a job as
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  Speaker 2: anybody in the country of winning situations. You know, the
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  Speaker 2: turnover battle, X-plays, third down, red zone. So we got
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  Speaker 2: to be good this week and we got to win.
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  Speaker 3: In those areas. And that's something that we emphasize every week.
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  Speaker 1: When you look back at last year's game, it was
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  Speaker 1: just the Big Ten championship game. So it was not
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  Speaker 1: that many games ago for the Ohio State football team,
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  Speaker 1: but obviously a lot has changed. You got whole different rosters.
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  Speaker 1: You got a bunch of guys who are off to
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  Speaker 1: the NFL from both teams. So how much can you
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  Speaker 1: take away from last year's game as they're preparing for
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  Speaker 1: this week? Or does that really not matter at all
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  Speaker 1: because the teams are so different?
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  Speaker 2: Well, yeah, it's definitely two new teams, but You look
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  Speaker 2: at everything, for sure, but coaches will look at everything,
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  Speaker 2: look at what they've done this year, what they did
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  Speaker 2: last year, all the different games, try to figure out
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  Speaker 2: what is the best for us to put our guys
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  Speaker 2: in a situation to be successful. But no, I don't
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  Speaker 2: think anything that happened last year has anything to do
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  Speaker 2: with what's going on this year.
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  Speaker 3: This is a new team. All that matters is how
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  Speaker 3: we play on Saturday.
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  Speaker 1: Last week against Maryland, the Buckeyes ran it more and
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  Speaker 1: threw it less than they have in any other game
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  Speaker 1: this season. So what went into that? Was it the weather?
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  Speaker 1: Cause it was raining all game or was it the opponent?
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  Speaker 1: Cause it was Maryland. Who's not very good. Or was
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  Speaker 1: it cause they were missing a bunch of starters or
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  Speaker 1: was it something else?
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  Speaker 2: Each game we try to, you know, have a good balance.
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  Speaker 2: And in some days, you know, it, it works out
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  Speaker 2: that we have really good balance. Other, other days it, uh,
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  Speaker 2: tilts one way or the other based on, you know,
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  Speaker 2: how things are going. Um, I thought we were able
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  Speaker 2: to establish a pretty good run game later in the game,
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  Speaker 2: much more than we did earlier in the game. So
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  Speaker 2: that's two games in a row we've been able to
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  Speaker 2: finish the fourth quarter the right way, and so we
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  Speaker 2: need to continue to do that.
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  Speaker 3: But we'll do.
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  Speaker 2: What's required to win, and I think the most important
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  Speaker 2: thing is having the ability to do both, which we're
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  Speaker 2: going to have to do in this game.
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  Speaker 1: One of the guys who was asked to step in
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  Speaker 1: last week in a starting lineup was Jake Cook. He
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  Speaker 1: was a starting right guard, and that was a real
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  Speaker 1: last-minute emergency thing when Austin Searveld was unable to go
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  Speaker 1: on Saturday morning. So how did he play in that
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  Speaker 1: emergency start, and what has made him so successful so
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  Speaker 1: early in his career?
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  Speaker 2: Well, he's got a great makeup mindset. He's a tough
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  Speaker 2: guy who takes a lot of pride in how he
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  Speaker 2: works every day and how his teammates and His coaches
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  Speaker 2: perceive who he is, and so.
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  Speaker 3: He's been able to.
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  Speaker 2: Get in the game for us this year and have
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  Speaker 2: meaningful snaps, and now in two different positions. He's a
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  Speaker 2: guy who grew up in Ohio, wasn't a highly recruited guy,
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  Speaker 2: but was gritty, was tough, earned everything he got, and
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  Speaker 2: committed to us a little bit later on in the process,
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  Speaker 2: and has continued that same gritty mindset for us. And
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  Speaker 2: I think he's going to have a bright future here,
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  Speaker 2: but we're going to need him this week. And everybody
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  Speaker 2: in that offensive line, everything's going to start up front
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  Speaker 2: in this game.
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  Speaker 1: Buckeyes feel like they're sort of dialing things in in
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  Speaker 1: the red zone at this point. But the question is, okay,
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  Speaker 1: are they dialing things in because they're dialing things in?
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  Speaker 1: Are they dialing things in because they haven't played teams
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  Speaker 1: as good as they did when they faced the Texas
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  Speaker 1: Longhorns or the team they're going to face this weekend
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  Speaker 1: in Indiana? So or have they found something there? Or
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  Speaker 1: is that still a little bit of TBD until you
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  Speaker 1: play another team as good as Indiana?
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  Speaker 2: You know, it just, it depends on how well we execute.
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  Speaker 2: That's what it comes down to. But we can say
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  Speaker 2: we've made progress. We can say we need to make
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  Speaker 2: more progress. The bottom line is how do we perform
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  Speaker 2: on Saturday?
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  Speaker 3: And that's it.
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  Speaker 2: And so that's everybody in the program. And so we
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  Speaker 2: know that that's going to be a very important part
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  Speaker 2: of the game plan. And They do a very good
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  Speaker 2: job down there. So we've got to be on point.
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  Speaker 2: We can't take negative plays. We've got to be efficient
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  Speaker 2: and execute and give them a good plan down there.
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  Speaker 2: So that's all about how we practice and how we prepare.
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  Speaker 2: So we'll look up at the end of the season
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  Speaker 2: and figure out what the numbers look like and how
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  Speaker 2: well we do. But if we're going to win this game,
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  Speaker 2: we've got to be good in there on both sides
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  Speaker 2: of the ball.
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  Speaker 1: How did the Indiana Hoosiers do it? How did Kurt
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  Speaker 1: Cicnetti build a national championship team at the losingest program
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  Speaker 1: in college football? That is the question that everyone in
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  Speaker 1: college football is asking themselves. And one of the more
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  Speaker 1: popular answers is that they were so veteran last year.
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  Speaker 1: They brought in just a bunch of older guys, a
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  Speaker 1: bunch of 22 and 23-year-old guys. And when you're going
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  Speaker 1: up against 19 and 20-year-olds, that can make a difference.
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  Speaker 1: So When you look at how Indiana built a roster
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  Speaker 1: with older players last season, did that impact what the
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  Speaker 1: Ohio State Buckeyes did this offseason in the portal?
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  Speaker 2: Again, we look at everything, but you've got to give
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  Speaker 2: Indiana a lot of credit. You've got to give Coach
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  Speaker 2: Cignetti a lot of credit. You've got to give his
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  Speaker 2: coaching staff a lot of credit for what they've done.
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  Speaker 2: I think they have a very veteran team. These guys
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  Speaker 2: have played a lot of football.
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  Speaker 3: When you look at.
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  Speaker 2: A lot of guys in all three phases have played
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  Speaker 2: over 1,000 college snaps. So he's done a very good job,
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  Speaker 2: and their staff have done a very good job of
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  Speaker 2: bringing in guys who are mature and have played a
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  Speaker 2: lot of football before.
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  Speaker 3: So that started off obviously.
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  Speaker 2: Bringing in some guys from James Madison, but he's continued
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  Speaker 2: to identify not just guys who have played a lot
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  Speaker 2: of football, but guys that fit his culture and that
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  Speaker 2: are good football players, which is what you're seeing this season.
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  Speaker 1: Last year in the Big Ten Championship game, the Indiana
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  Speaker 1: defense presented a big challenge to the Ohio State offensive line,
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  Speaker 1: and the Buckeye offensive line was not always up to
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  Speaker 1: that challenge. So this week, going to Bloomington, the crowd
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  Speaker 1: noise is going to be an issue. Things are a
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  Speaker 1: little bit in flux with injuries up front. What kind
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  Speaker 1: of challenges is that going to present to the Ohio
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  Speaker 1: State offensive line?
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  Speaker 2: It is going to be a huge challenge. They do
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  Speaker 2: an excellent job up front on defense. Their defensive line
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  Speaker 2: is one of the biggest challenges we'll have all season.
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  Speaker 2: So we've got to have a great week of preparation.
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  Speaker 2: And like you said, you know, um, looks like, you know,
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  Speaker 2: we'll get Phil back this week and so he'll have
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  Speaker 2: a full day today. And, um, and so, you know,
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  Speaker 2: we'll work through what that looks like throughout the week. But, um,
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  Speaker 2: this is not something that, you know, you don't plan for. Um,
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  Speaker 2: we have a plan in place. That's why, uh, we
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  Speaker 2: recruit depth. That's why we develop depth. And that's why,
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  Speaker 2: you know, we have to play depth. And so, um,
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  Speaker 2: that's what we're going to have to do in this
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  Speaker 2: game and, uh, then be prepared for whatever comes with it. But, um,
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  Speaker 2: The good news is some of these guys have played
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  Speaker 2: against Indiana before, and so they know how good these
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  Speaker 2: guys are and what comes with it. So they're going
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  Speaker 2: to have all of our attention for sure.
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  Speaker 1: Last year when the Ohio State offensive line was having
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  Speaker 1: some struggles against Indiana in the Big Ten championship game,
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  Speaker 1: that sort of cascaded over to Julian Sane, who did
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  Speaker 1: not always handle that pressure all that well. He had
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  Speaker 1: not really been chased around all that much last season.
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  Speaker 1: So when Indiana really got after him, he did not
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  Speaker 1: respond well. quite as well as you would have hoped.
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  Speaker 1: This year feels like maybe he's taking a step forward
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  Speaker 1: this year. Is he handling pressure better this season? Has
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  Speaker 1: he improved there since last year?
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  Speaker 2: A lot comes with it. It's the timing of the routes.
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  Speaker 2: It's the protection. Then to your point, it's the presence
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  Speaker 2: in the pocket and feeling the pocket. I think it's
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  Speaker 2: something that all quarterbacks have a process of developing. I
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  Speaker 2: think you've seen a lot of progress made there. This
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  Speaker 2: will be another tough environment. This is going to be loud,
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  Speaker 2: so we're going to be able to handle the silent cadence.
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  Speaker 2: We know what this means for their program and for
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  Speaker 2: our program, so the good news is, you know, we've
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  Speaker 2: already been in a couple of these environments, and so this.
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  Speaker 3: Is where quarterbacks have to be tough.
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  Speaker 2: You know, everyone has to be tough, but when you're
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  Speaker 2: on the road in these types of environments, handling the noise,
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  Speaker 2: and then, you know, getting a win like this on
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  Speaker 2: the road is going to take everybody, and certainly the quarterback,
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  Speaker 2: you know, being able to handle everything that comes with that,
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  Speaker 2: third down, red zone, pressure, all of those things will
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  Speaker 2: be important, so I'm excited to see Julian play on Saturday.
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  Speaker 2: This is obviously a huge one for all of us,
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  Speaker 2: but but it's not just the quarterback, right? It's everybody,
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  Speaker 2: so that's why we have to find a balance. And
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  Speaker 2: I think another thing that Indiana does a good job
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  Speaker 2: of doing is they force you to win your one-on-one
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  Speaker 2: battles for a lot of different reasons. I won't get
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  Speaker 2: into all the reasons why, but they do a very
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  Speaker 2: good job of that, and so that's the challenge for
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  Speaker 2: our guys.
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  Speaker 1: And finally, a question about some of the younger offensive
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  Speaker 1: linemen on this year's team, guys like Carter Lowe and
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  Speaker 1: Deontay Armstrong. They are kind of the next guys to...
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  Speaker 1: on the depth chart at tackle, but when Ohio state
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  Speaker 1: had to make a decision before last week's game, they
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  Speaker 1: ended up moving Gabe Van Sickle out to tackle and
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  Speaker 1: keeping Carter Lowe and Deontay Armstrong on the bench. So
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  Speaker 1: how close were one of one or both of those
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  Speaker 1: guys to getting the call at tackle on Saturday morning
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  Speaker 1: when Austin Searville was not suddenly available?
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, they're, they're a snap or two away from getting
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  Speaker 2: in the game.
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  Speaker 3: So they have to prepare.
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  Speaker 2: Um, but like we always say, I mean, um, you know,
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  Speaker 2: guys are at different points in their journey. I wouldn't
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  Speaker 2: say that they're that far off, but they just need
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  Speaker 2: to continue to put it on the field day in
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  Speaker 2: and day out. And, you know, the more they do that,
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  Speaker 2: the more that they can climb up the depth chart,
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  Speaker 2: you know, when somebody goes down. But I think they
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  Speaker 2: both have bright futures here. I think that they're not
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  Speaker 2: that far away, just the consistency part. But, you know,
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  Speaker 2: as you know, with offensive linemen, like, you know, you
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  Speaker 2: think about where Luke Montgomery was two years ago, he
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  Speaker 2: didn't play at all. And then He started the whole
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  Speaker 2: run in the playoffs and played great, and we won
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  Speaker 2: the national championship. So I can kind of see them
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  Speaker 2: in sort of that mold right now. So with offensive
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  Speaker 2: linemen in it, it can be frustrating. You can practice
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  Speaker 2: every day and not get in the game and feel
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  Speaker 2: like you're not getting anywhere.
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  Speaker 3: I think they are.
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  Speaker 2: They just need to keep stacking these days, stacking these weeks.
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  Speaker 3: There you go.
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  Speaker 1: A little bit from Ryan Day. We'll try and get
• 12:35
  Speaker 1: you another bonus show a little later on today. We've
• 12:38
  Speaker 1: got a lot of stuff to share with you. as
• 12:40
  Speaker 1: we count down the days to this kickoff of a
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  Speaker 1: top five matchup. Number four, Ohio State. Number five, Indiana.
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  Speaker 1: Saturday at noon in Memorial Stadium in Bloomington. We will,
• 12:49
  Speaker 1: of course, be there to cover that for you. Our
• 12:52
  Speaker 1: plan is to be there for the team arrival Friday
• 12:55
  Speaker 1: night in Bloomington. We'll try and have a live show
• 12:57
  Speaker 1: for you there. We'll be there Saturday morning for a
• 13:00
  Speaker 1: pregame show at Memorial Stadium. We'll be there for a
• 13:02
  Speaker 1: postgame show after what will be quite an eventful day
• 13:05
  Speaker 1: at Memorial Stadium. And if you want to talk to
• 13:08
  Speaker 1: us before then, the best place to do that is
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  Speaker 1: at BuckeyeInsiders.com. That's where we've got our whole team of
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  Speaker 1: reservation today. That will do it for today. Thank you
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  Speaker 1: guys all for joining us. Have a great day. We'll
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  Speaker 1: talk to you tomorrow.